Still camera film metering mechanism

ABSTRACT

A still camera is loaded with a film cartridge having a rotatable sprocket for pushing film out of and retracting it through a light trap opening in the cartridge and has a film metering mechanism which controls rotation of the sprocket and precisely regulates the amount of film pushed out of the cartridge and in front of the lens so that each individual picture has exactly the same predetermined position relative to the leading and trailing edges of the film on all film strips. The film metering means transports a length of film equal to a leader plus a single picture frame for the first picture and lengths equal to a single picture frame for succeeding pictures and precisely places the same identical portion on all film strips in front of the lens for corresponding picture frames.

United States Patent Van Osch Feb. 25, 1975 [54] STILL CAMERA FILMMETERING 2,771,825 11/1956 Naumann 354/217 MECHANISM 2,948,204 8/1960Kopp et a1. 1. 354/275 Inventor: John H. Van Osch, 3415 Honey Creek Ct.,Milwaukee, Wis. 53219 Filed: Dec. 14, 1973 Appl. No.: 424,679

Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 238,696, March 27,1972, which is a division of Ser. No. 501,321, Oct. 22, 1965, Pat, No.3,653,310.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1938 Goldhammer 354/212 6/1944Moomaw et a1... 354/212 X 12/1951 Simmon 354/215 Primary Examiner.lohnM. Horan [57] ABSTRACT A still camera is loaded with a film cartridgehaving a rotatable sprocket for pushing film out of and retracting itthrough a light trap opening in the cartridge and has a film meteringmechanism which controls rotation of the sprocket and preciselyregulates the amount of film pushed out of the cartridge and in front ofthe lens so that each individual picture has exactly the samepredetermined position relative to the leading and trailing edges of thefilm on all film strips. The film metering means transports a length offilm equal to a leader plus a single picture frame for the first pictureand lengths equal to a single picture frame for succeeding pictures andprecisely places the same identical portion on all film strips in frontof the lens for corresponding picture frames.

11 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUFEBZSISYS 3 ,868,710 SHEET a {15 3STILL CAMERA FILM METERING MECHANISM This is a division, of applicationSer. No. 238,696 filed Mar. 27, 1972, which was a division ofapplication Ser. No. 501,321 filed Oct. 22, 1965, now US. Pat. No.3,653,310.

This invention relates to photography and in particular to an improvedphotographic system for taking and processing still pictures.

The high cost of conventional photographic systems for taking andprocessing colored still pictures results at least in part from thewasted film leaders at the ends of the film and from the manualoperations involved in printing from the developed film. Each frame ofthe developed film must be manually brought into register with theprinting aperture in conventional photographic systems and individuallyprinted, thereby making continuous and automatic printing impossible andsubstantially increasing the cost of print processing. Further, camerasof conventional photographic systems are difficult to load because thestarting end of the roll must be manually affixed to the film advancingspool, the camera closed, and then several frames of film or paperleader advanced to bring unexposed film in front of the lens. The filmleader attached to the film advancing spool is wasted and addsappreciably to the cost of the photographic system.

It is difficult to change from black and white to color film, or viceversa, in conventional cameras. For example, in 35 mm. photography it isnecessary to rewind the film backwards into the cartridge before removalfrom the camera to permit change to another type of film. When it isdesired to use the remaining film in the cartridge, it is necessary tocover the lens and advance the already exposed film one frame at a timepast the lens and to trip the shutter at each frame to release theadvancing mechanism. Further, it is impossible to tell when the lastexposed frame is past the lens, and it is thus necessary to advance afew frames without exposing them to prevent possible double exposure.Paperback spools of film cannot be reversed, and when it is desired tochange to a different type of film in the middle of a roll. it isnecessary to completely wind the film forward onto the take-up spool. Itis then necessary to take the film into a darkroom and wind it in thereverse direction on another spool before it can be reloaded in thecamera for exposure of the remaining picture areas. It is also necessaryto cover the lens and advance the previously exposed film one exposurenumber at a time by tripping the shutter to release the advancingmechanism until unexposed film is in front of the lens.

It is an object of the invention to provide a still camera havingimproved film metering means which is less expensive and requires lessfilm to produce a given number of pictures than prior art still camerassystems of photography. It is a further object of the invention toprovide an improved system of photography which eliminates the necessityof manually registering each frame of the processed film with theprinting aperture. Another object is to provide a system of photographyincluding a still camera with film metering means which permits rapidchange from one type of film to another in the camera without the lossof a single frame and in a much simpler manner than in conventionalstill cameras. Still another object of the invention is to provide animproved system of still picture photography including a camera withfilm metering. which eliminates the necessity of manually attaching theend of the film to a spool within the camera and which does not wastefilm at the ends of the film strip as in conventional photographicsystems. A further object of the invention is to provide an improvedstill camera having film metering means system of photography whereineach individual picture has exactly the same predetermined positionrelative to the leading and trailing edges of the film on all filmstrips.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be morereadily apparent from the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. I is a perspective view of the camera and film cartridge of thephotographic system of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view through the film cartridge taken along line 2-2 of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken through the camera alongline 4-4 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 5 is a view taken along line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partial top view of the camera with a portion of the coverremoved to illustrate the internal construction;

FIG. 7 is a view taken along line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views illustrating the film splicing step of thephotographic system of the invention, FIG. 9 being an enlarged plan viewshowing the film being held in registration for splicing as illustratedin FIG. 10; and

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating the developing and printing steps of thephotographic system of the invention.

In accordance with the photographic system of the invention, eachindividual picture has exactly the same predetermined location relativeto the leading and trailing edges of the film for all film strips.Consequently, the latent image for each exposure is at a predeterminedidentical position on all film strips. Film transporting means areprovided which precisely places the same identical portion of all filmstrips in front of the lens for corresponding picture frames. Inasmuchas the area exposed, and thus the latent image for each picture, is atthe identical predetermined position on all film strips. it is possibleto automatically position negatives in precise register with an aperturein a film printer and to simultaneously print pictures from a pluralityof negatives in a continuous system after the individual film strips arespliced together.

The camera and film cartridge of my improved system of photography willbe described first and the development of the film and the printing ofpictures will subsequently be disclosed. Referring to FIGS. l8 of thedrawing, a still camera 10 for the system of photography of my inventionincludes a casing 11 which in conventional manner supports a lens 12, anexposure button 14, and a lever 15 for cocking the shutter, and anoptical view finder 16. Camera casing 11 includes a door I7 which canslide to an open position to permit insertion of a film cartridge 18into casing 11.

Cartridge 18 includes a hollow, boxshaped housing 19 having a light trapopening 20 therein covered by material 21 such as felt which preventsentrance of light into the interior of housing 19 while permittinginsertion of photographic film strip 22 into housing 19. Filmtransporting means within cartridge housing I9 for positively engagingfilm strip 22 and for ejecting it from housing 19 and retracting it backinto housing 19 may comprise a pair of sprocket wheels 23 affixed inaxially spaced apart relation to a rotatably mounted shaft 24. Sprocketwheels 23 have teeth 26 thereon adapted to engage perforations, ornotches 27 (See FIG. spaced apart longitudinally of the film strip 22.The ends of shaft 24 may be journalled in openings 28 in the top andbottom walls 30 and 31 respectively of cartridge housing 19. Thesprocket wheels 23 andshaft 24 are in the shape of a spool but do notconstitute a spool in the conventional sense since film strip 22 is notwound thereon. A film storage compartment 33 having an entrance aperture34 is formed in cartridge housing 19 by the cartridge end and side wallsand by arcuatein-cross-section, film guiding wall portions 36 at the topand bottom of housing 19 which cause the film 22 to assume the shape ofa spiral coil within compartment 33. Sprocket wheels 23 are disposedbetween light trap opening 20 and film storage compartment 33, and themeans for positively engaging film strip 22 and transporting it,including teeth 26 engaging perforations 27 in film strip 22 is adaptedto push film strip 22 from compartment 33 out of light trap opening 20and to pull it back through opening 20 and transfer it to compartment 33upon rewinding. Arcuate wall portions 36 and a sidewall portion 37 ofhousing 19 together constitute film guiding means converging in adirection away from sprocket wheels 23 toward film compartment 33 whichdirect one end of film strip 22 into compartment 33. Housing 19 hasaninternal curvilinear surface 38 conforming closely to the periphery ofsprocket wheels 23 and having a radius of curvature slightly smallerthan the radius of teeth 26, and grooves 39 are provided in surface 38receiving teeth 26 and permitting teeth 26 to protrude into perforations27 as film strip 22 is inserted through light trap opening 20 andbetween sprocket wheels 23 and curvilinear surface 38.

An axial extension 41 on shaft 24 extends through top wall 30 ofcartridge housing 19 and terminates in a head portion 42 having anon-circular film advancing portion 43 adapted to engage a complementarynoncircular film advancing member 44- (See FIG. 5) of camera to providea releasable driving engagement therebetween. As illustrated in thedrawing, the noncircular film advancing portion 43 of cartridge 18 is adiametrically extending slot in the configuration of a nick in the endof a screw and is adapted to engage a diametrically extending filmadvancing member 44 of the camera in the configuration of a screw drivertip. A portion 46 of top wall 30 of cartridge housing 19 surroundingshaft head portion 42 has a radially extending, cartridge orienting slot47 therein adapted to receive member 44 of the camera and assures thatcartridge 18 must have a predetermined orientation when it is insertedinto camera casing 11.

Inasmuch as the cartridge 18 can only be inserted into the camera 10 inone position, the non-circular portion 43 and the sprocket wheels 23must have a predetermined orientation relative to the cartridge housing19 when cartridge 18 is inserted into camera casing 11, and consequentlyit will be appreciated that the leader end of the film strip 22 isalways in a predetermined position relative to light trap opening whencartridge 18 is inserted into camera casing 11.

Although the film transporting means within the cartridge 18 adapted topositively engage and move the 4 film 22 is shown and described hereinas including teeth 26 and perforations 27 in the film strip 22, it willbe appreciated that other means may be utilized to accomplish thisresult such as friction drive wheels which engage the edges of the filmstrip or drive means utilizing magnetic material deposited on the filmstrip.

A compartment 48 in camera housing 11 is adapted to slidably receivecartridge 18 which can only be inserted into camera housing 11 whenslots 43 and 47 are oriented to receive film advancing member 44 of thecamera. A spring 49 within compartment 48 resiliently urges cartridge 18against the closed camera door 17. No take-up spool for the film strip22 is required in camera 10. Instead film transporting means push filmstrip 22 out of cartridge 18 so that a predetermined area of film strip22 is in front of lens 12 for each exposure, and for each exposure thispredetermined area is identical for all film strips used in thedisclosed system of photography. Light trap opening 20 in cartridge 18is opposite film guiding means within the camera casing 11 defined byback-to-back front and rear plates 50 and 51 having opposed bevelededges 56 defining a generally V-shaped opening between plates 50 and 51to facilitate entry of film strip 22 therebetween when film 22 is pushedout of cartridge 18. Front plate 50 is the aperture plate. In mostcameras the back plate is spring mounted and presses the film againstthe aperture plate to maintain the desired focal distance. However, inthe present camera front and back plates 50 and 51 touch at their upperand lower edges and one plate is undercut to a depth slightly greaterthan the thickness of the film strip 22 to permit passage of the filmstrip and precise positioning of the film strip at the focal plane. Rearplate 51 has a curvate end portion 52 which forms a generallycylindrical film chamber 53 within camera housing 11. The end of curvateportion 52 is spaced slightly from the flat portion of rear plate 51 todefine a vertically elongated entrance aperture 54 into film chamber 53.Front plate 50 has a framing aperture 55 therein. 7

The details of the lens as well as the conventional double exposurepreventing means of the camera have been omitted from the drawing tosimplify the con struction and to facilitate the understanding of theinvention.

The film transporting means for ejecting film 22 out of cartridge 18 andinto a position in front of lens 12 includes a knurled film advancingknob 58 on the top wall 59 of casing 11 affixed to a shaft 60 extendingthrough top wall 59 and having a small toothed gear 61 and the filmadvancing member 44 secured to the lower end thereof. Gear 61 engages arelatively large indexing gear 63 rotatably mounted on a shaft 64 withincamera casing 11. Shaft 64 extends through top wall 59 of casing 11 andis affixed to an index plate 66 exterior of casing 11 having the indiciaLOAD and the exposure numbers, for example, 1 through 6, thereon. Anindex marker 67 cooperating with index plate 66 is provided on top wall59 of camera casing 11.

A plurality of circumferentially spaced apart, vertically extending,indexing holes H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6, and HL provided in the top faceof indexing gear 63 index when the predetermined portion of film strip22 for each exposure is opposite framing aperture 55 and lens 12. Filmstrip 22 can be of such length to provide a number of exposures greaterthan six and camera 10 can also be modified to take a greater number ofexposures, but in order to shorten the description and to facilitate theunderstanding of the invention, it will be assumed throughout theremainder of the description that film strip 22 is of sufficient lengthto permit six exposures and camera is also constructed to take sixpictures for each film cartridge 18.

A rocker arm 69 within camera casing 11 pivotally mounted by a pin 70(Seen best in FIG. 7) on a U- shaped support 71 has a depending latchpin 74 at one end resiliently urged against the upper surface ofindexing gear 63 by a spring 75 engaging the other end of rocker arm 69.Latch pin 74 falls into the indexing holes HL, H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, andH6 sequentially as indexing gear 63 is rotated by film winding knob 58and gear 61, and latch pin 74 locks indexing gear 63 in a positionwherein the desired predetermined portion of the film strip 22 for eachof the exposures one to six is in front of lens 12. Winding knob 58 canonly be rotated to advance film strip 22 to the next exposure bydepressing button 77 on the upper surface of camera casing 11 whichpivots rocker arm 69 about pin 70 against the force of spring 75 andlifts latch pin 74 from the indexing hole in which it was engaged.

After cartridge 18 is inserted into camera casing 11 and door 17 closed,winding knob 58 is manually rotated to eject film strip 22 fromcartridge 18 andadvance it in front of lens 12. Winding knob 58 can onlybe turned after button 77 is depressed to lift latch pin 74 out of theindexing hole HL corresponding to the LOAD position. Counterclockwiserotation of winding knob 58 actuates cartridge shaft 24 through matingnon-circular film advancing portions 44 and 43 of camera 10 andcartridge 18 respectively. Rotation of shaft 24 and sprocket wheels 23having teeth 26 engaging perforations 27 in the film strip 22 pushesfilm strip 22 out oflight trap 20 in the cartridge 18 and advances theend of film strip 22 between the front and rear plates 50 and 51. Theend of the film strip 22 is guided by the beveled edges 56 of plates 50and 51 which define a generally V-shaped opening between the plates. Thefilm strip 22 is advanced by teeth 26 engaging notches 27 until latchpin 74 on rocker arm 69 falls into the indexing hole H1 in indexing gear63 and thus prevents further rotation of winding knob 58. Indexing holeH1 corresponds to exposure number one on film strip 22, and when latchpin 74 drops into indexing hole H1 and indicia l on index plate 66 isopposite marker 67, a predetermined length'of film 22, for example, alength of film equal to the distance between twelve notches 27,constituting a leader of six notch length plus a picture frame of sixnotch length, has been pushed out of cartridge 18. The last six notchlength constituting the first picture frame, or exposure number one, hasbeen moved in front of framing aperture 55 and lens 12. It will beappreciated that non-uniform spacing of indexing holes l-l makes itpossible to move a greater length of film out of cartridge 18 betweenthe LOAD position and the first exposure than is pushed out of thecartridge 18 between successive exposures. In the above example, alength of film 22 equal to the distance between l2 notches is moved tobring the first frame in front of the lens 12, whereas to advance film22 to the second exposure it is only necessary to depress button 77 androtate winding knob 58 until a length of film 22 equal to the distancebetween six sprocket holes 27 is advanced and latch pin 74 falls intoindexing hole H2 corresponding to the second exposure. The exposedportion of film strip 22 is pushed into film chamber 53 in camera casing11.

In order to assure that the leading edge of film strip 22 is not fogged,the first frame, or picture area begins six notches 27 from the leadingedge of the film and ends at the twelfth notch 27. In other words, thepredetermined portion of the film for the first exposure areaconstituting picture number one will be between the sixth and twelfthperforations and six perforations will have been advanced past framingaperture 55 in the camera. It will be appreciated that this samepredetermined portion for picture number one of all film strips utilizedin my system of photography will be in front of the camera lens, that itis unnecessary to manually affix the leading edge of the film strip 22to a spool within the camera, and that minimum length of film leader isWasted. In conventional photographic systems the wasted part of the filmis that portion of the film in front of the lens and the portion woundon the film advancing spool before the camera is closed.

After taking the first picture, film strip 22 is transported to thesecond exposure by depressing button 77 and turning knob 58 until a filmlength equal to the dis tance between six perforations has been advancedin front of lens 12 and latch pin 74 falls into the succeeding indexinghole H2.

When film strip 22 has been transported to the last exposureand latchpin 74 falls into indexing hole H6, a stop block 79 on camera casing 11interferes with a stop member 80 affixed to indexing gear 63 as shown indotted lines in FIG. 6 and prevents further rotation of winding knob 58in the forward direction. Thus film strip 22 is stopped from furthermovement in the forward direction after the last exposure. Thisconstruction permits a minimum length of film to remain in cartridge 18,and the unexposed length of film, or tail, 8] remaining within cartridge18 constitute only the length between the edge of framing aperture 55and two perforations 27 in engagement with two teeth 26 on cartridgesprocket wheels 23. As shown in FIG. 9, the tail 81 is the lengthbetween six perforations 27 and is identical in length to the leader 82.

In order to rewind film strip 22 into cartridge 18, button 77 is helddepressed and knob 58 is rotated in a clockwise direction until theindicia LOAD on indexing plate 63 is opposite marker 67, at which pointstop 80 affixed to indexing gear 63 is against the opposite side of stopblock 79 as shown'in full lines in FIG. 6 and further rotation of film22 in the reverse direction is prevented. At this position the filmstrip 22 is fully retracted into the cartridge 18 and occupies exactlythe same position as when cartridge 18 was originally inserted intocamera casing 11. Camera door 17 is now opened and cartridge 18 removedfrom camera casing 11.

Camera door 17 cannot be opened to insert or remove cartridge 18 unlessthe indicia LOAD on index plate 66 is opposite index marker 67. If anyother indicia on index plate 66 is opposite marker 67, the door 17 islocked closed. This feature prevents improper loading of the cartridge18 into the camera 10. Door 17 is provided with a locking notch 84. Alocking member 83 is slidable lengthwise in bearing blocks 85 and ispivotally connected by a pin 86 to a lever 87 which is pivoted about apin 88. Lever 87 is normally resiliently urged by a spring 89 to actuatelocking member 83 into notch 84 when the door 17 is closed, thuspreventing opening of the camera and accidental exposure of film 22 tolight except when film 22 is fully retracted into cartridge 18, at whichtime the indicia LOAD is opposite marker 67. When the film advancingknob 58 is turned to actuate the indicia LOAD opposite marker 67, aradially extending pin 90 secured to indexing gear 63 strikes one end ofpivoted lever 87 and disengages locking member 83 from the notch 84,thereby permitting the door 17 to be opened.

The disclosed cartridge and camera of my system of photography permitseasy and quick change to a different type of film. Assume three blackand white pictures of photographic film 22 have been exposed, and it isdesired to change to color film, exposure number three has been made andindicia 3" on index plate 66 is opposite marker 67. It is only necessaryto depress button 77 and turn knob 58 clockwise until indicia LOAD isopposite marker 67 and latch pin 74 falls into indexing hole HL, atwhich time the film strip 22 has been retracted into cartridge 18 inexactly the same predetermined position it occupied when cartridge 18was originally inserted into camera casing 11. Door 17 can be opened,cartridge 18 removed, and a cartridge containing color film insertedinto camera and exposed as desired. If it is now desired to re-loadcartridge 18 containing the original black and white film strip havingthree exposed frames, it is merely necessary to insert cartridge 18 intocasing 11, close door 17, depress button 77 and turn winding knob 58until indicia 4 on index plate comes opposite marker 67 and latch pin 74falls into indexing hole H4. Exposure number 4 on black and white film22 can now be made. It is unnecessary to stop at each frame number,cover the lens, and operate the exposure lever in order to advance thefilm past each frame as in conventional cameras. It is unnecessary tore-spool the entire roll of film in a darkroom as is required withconventional cameras using roll film. I have found that it is possibleto change from a partially exposed film to a different kind of film andbe ready to take a picture with the new kind of film in less thanfifteen seconds with the camera and cartridge of my system ofphotography.

The latent image for each exposure is in a predetermined position forall film strips 22, and in the preferred system of my invention aplurality of film strips 22A, 22B, 22C, etc. are spliced end-to-end sothat the negatives developed from such latent images can beautomatically brought into registration with a printing aperture in acontinuous developing and printing process. FIGS. 9 and 10 illustratethe step of placing a plurality of film strips 22A, 22B, 22C, etc.end-to-end to provide a continuous length of film 91 which can beadvanced continuously through developing and printing apparatus so thatfilm transporting means engaging perforations 27 can automatically indexthe negatives into register with a printing aperture and a plurality ofpictures printed simultaneously.

Assume that a continuous length of film 91 comprising a plurality offilm strips spliced end-to-end in a manner hereinafter described hasbeen inserted into a film magazine 92 so that a portion of the trailingedge, or tail 81 of one film strip 22A extends through the light trap inmagazine 92. FIG. 9 is an enlarged plan view of the splicing operationillustrated in FIG. 10 wherein the tail 81 of film strip 22A extendingfrom the light trap in magazine 92 is being spliced to the leader 82 offilm strip 22B within cartridge 18. In my system of photography, thesplicing of a plurality of film strips such as 22A and 22B end-to-e'ndcan be accomplished in a lighted room without fogging the exposed film.As shown in FIG. 9, only four of the six perforations comprising tail 81extend beyond the light trap in magazine 92 and are exposed to light.One perforation A on each edge of tail 81 engages a pin 93 on splicingblock 94. FIG. 9 illustrates that perforations A, B, C, and D extendbeyond the light trap in magazine 92 and that perforations E and F arein the light trap, thereby providing protection against light strikingthe area of picture number six. As further shown in FIG. 9, fourperforations A, B, C, and D of the six perforations comprising theleader 82 of film strip 228 extend beyond the light trap of cartridge18. Perforations E and F of leader 82 are within the light trap toprotect against light striking the area of picture number one of filmstrip 228.

The tail 81 of film strip 22A is spliced to leader 82 of film 22B sothat the normal perforation distance is maintained and also a distanceis maintained between picture six on film strip 22A and picture one onfilm stip 228 which is a multiple of the length of one picture. In otherwords, the distance between picture six on film strip 22A and pictureone on film strip 22B is equal to 12 perforations, which is exactlytwice the length of a single picture area. Tail 81 of film 22A andleader 82 of film 22B are placed over pins 93 of splicing block 94, aseparate piece of perforated film (not shown) is placed over the pins 93so that it overlaps tail 81 and leader 82, and the three pieces of filmare welded together by heating elements (not shown) in the upper andlower jaws of film splicing block 94. Non-circular film advancingportion 43 on cartridge 18 permits automatic feeding of film 223 tosplicing block 94 so that the leader 82 of film 22B occupies apredetermined position relative to splicing block 94. Magazine 92 has aninternally mounted sprocket 95 provided with a shaft extending through awall of magazine 92 and having a non-circular driving end 96. Sprocket95 is adapted to engage perforations 27 on film 91 and is positionedadjacent the light trap in magazine 92. Sprocket 95 and non-circulardriving end 96 provides means for pulling film 228 from cartridge 18 andinto magazine 92 and stopping film 22B with precisely four perforationsof the tail extending from the light trap in magazine 92.

It will be appreciated that continuous length of film 91 within magazine92 is an end-to-end series of six latent images sepa rated by apredetermined number of sprocket holes which is a multiple of the numberof sprocket holes covered by the length of each latent image, therebypermitting automatic sequencing in the printing machine.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, film 91 from magazine 92 is pulled over aseries of rollers 97 through a series of tanks 98 for the variousprocessing steps by rollers 99 driven continuously from a suitable powersource (not shown). A slack loop 101 of the developed film 91 isprovided between the film processor 98 and photographic printer 103 toaccomodate intermittent movement of film printer 103. Developed film 91,comprising end-to-end film strips 22A, 22B, 22C, etc., is intermittentlyadvanced by a sprocket wheel 105 of printer 103 past a light source 106and so that all six exposures one to six of each film strip 22A, 22B,22C, etc., are brought into register with a printing aperture 108simultaneously. Light passing through the six exposures may be focusedby a lens 110 upon printing paper 111 fed from a supply reel 112 andwound on a take-up reel 113. Sprocket wheel 105 has teeth 116 engagingperforations 27 in film 91 and intermittently advances each successiveseries of six exposures of one of the end-toend strips 22A, 22B, 22C,etc., into register with printing aperture 108. Sprocket wheel 105 mayhave the same number of teeth 116 as there are sprocket holes 27 in sixexposures and the length of film between each set of six negatives,i.e., six times six plus 12 equals 48 teeth 116, so that one revolutionof sprocket wheel 105 automatically pulls the succeeding set of sixexposures of a film strip such as 22B into register with printing aperture 108. A single revolution of sprocket wheel 105 can beaccomplished by any suitable intermittent drive means such as a Genevagear (not shown) or an electric clutch 118 driven from a continuoussource of power 119. Printing paper 111 may be intermittently advancedso that printing paper 111 is stationary during exposure thereof andsubsequently a sufficient length of printing paper is advanced,simultaneously with movement of film 91, to permit simultaneous printingof six pictures. Drive wheel 105 may be interlocked with a switch 121for controlling light source 106 so that light source 106 is turned offduring movement of film 91 and printing paper 111 and is only turned onafter film 91 is stationary and the six negatives are in register withprinting aperture 108.

Although the same light source 106 of the processing apparatus asdisclosed simultaneously covers six negatives, it will be appreciatedthat the invention is not so limited and also comprehends automaticallytransporting a plurality of exposures into registry with the same numberof printing apertures and simultaneously printing all six exposures inaccordance with their individual density reading and color correctionrequirements through a separate light source for each printing aperturewhich can be of the type utilizing fiber optic means to transmitcontrolled light to the plurality of printing apertures.

lt will also be appreciated that the disclosed system of photographyeliminates the costly step of manually bringing each negative intoregistry with the printing aperture and permits developing and printingto be accomplished in a continuous automatic operation.

While only a single embodiment of the camera, cartridge, and processingsteps of the photographic system of the invention have been illustratedand described, many modifications and variations thereof will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and consequently it is intended inthe appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications whichfall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. I

1 claim:

1. In combination with a still camera having a housing provided with acompartment adapted to receive a film cartridge containing a rotatablefilm sprocket having teeth adapted to engage perforations in aphotographic film and a noncircular portion exterior of the cartridge topush the film out of a light trap opening in said cartridge and in frontof the camera lens, film metering means comprising a film-actuatingmember rotatably mounted within said camera housing and having anoncircular portion complementary to and adapted to releasably engagesaid noncircular portion of said sprocket,

an indexing member operatively connected to said film actuating memberand being rotatably mounted within said camera housing and carrying aplurality of arcuately spaced apart stop means corresponding to thenumber of picture frames to be exposed on the film,

latch means within said housing in the path of movement of said stopmeans as said indexing member rotates for latching each of said stopmeans as it passes to thereby control the length of film pushed out ofsaid cartridge,

manually operable means on said camera housing for releasing said latchmeans,

a manually rotatable film winding member on said camera housingoperatively connected to said indexing member and to said film-actuatingmember,

the spacing between the first and second of said stop means beingdifferent than that between other ad jacent stop means to permit pushinga length of film equal to a leader plus one picture frame out of saidlight trap opening in the initial movement of said film,

said indexing member having a cartridge-loading position wherein saidlatch means latches the first of said stop means on said indexing memberand said cartridge can be inserted into and withdrawn from saidcompartment, and including means on said camera housing for preventinginsertion of said cartridge into said compartment when said indexingmember is away from said cartridgeloading position.

2. The combination of claiml wherein said means for preventing insertionof said cartridge comprises said film-actuating member being oriented ina position wherein its noncircular portion cannot engage saidnoncircular portion of said sprocket and blocks entry of said cartridgeinto said compartment.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said camera housing has a movabledoor permitting insertion of said cartridge into and withdrawal thereoffrom said compartment and including means in said camera housingresponsive to said indexing member being away from saidcartridge-loading position for locking said door and being responsive tosaid indexing member being latched in said cartridge-loading positionfor unlocking said door.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said indexing member has aplurality of arcuately spaced apart indentations each of which comprisesone of said stop means, said latch means includes a latch memberpivotally mounted within said camera housing and carrying a latch pinadapted to enter said indentations, and including resilient means forbiasing said latch member in a direction to insert said latch pin intosaid indentations.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said indexing member has teeth andincluding a gear rotatably mounted within said housing and having teethmeshing with the teeth on said indexing member, and

a shaft rotatably mounted within said housing and being affixed to saidhandle and to said gear and to said film actuating member.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said indexing member is a toothedgear having a plurality of arcuately spaced apart indentations each ofwhich comprises one of said stop means, and said latch means includes alatch member pivotably mounted within said camera housing and carrying alatch pin adapted to enter said indentations, and including resilientmeans for biasing said latch member in a direction to insert said latchpin into said indentations.

7. The combination of claim 6 including cooperable stop means on saidindexing member and on said camera housing for preventing additionalrotation of said indexing member after the last picture frame on thefilm has been pushed in front of the camera lens.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said indexing member has acartridge-loading position wherein said latch pin is within the first ofsaid indentations and said noncircular portion of said film actuatingmember is oriented to permit entry of said cartridge into said camerahousing and releasably engages said noncircular portion of saidsprocket, and wherein said noncircular portion of said film actuatingmember is oriented to obstruct entry of said cartridge into said camerahousing and prevent engagement with said noncircular portion of saidsprocket when said indexing member is away 12 from saidcartridge-loading position.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein said camera housing has a movabledoor for insertion of said cartridge into said compartment and includingmeans in said camera housing for locking said door when said indexingmember is away from said cartridge-loading position and for unlockingsaid door when said indexing member is in said cartridge-loadingposition.

10. The combination of claim 1 and including cooperating stop means onsaid indexing member and on said camera housing for preventingadditional rotation of said indexing member after the portion of theunex posed film corresponding to the last picture frame has been pushedin front of the camera lens.

11. The combination of claim 1 and including a stationary pointer on theexteriorof said camera housing, and a plate carrying picture frameindicia rotatably mounted on the exterior of said camera housingadjacent said stationary pointer and being operatively connected to saidindexing member.

1. In combination with a still camera having a housing provided with acompartment adapted to receive a film cartridge containing a rotatablefilm sprocket having teeth adapted to engage perforations in aphotographic film and a noncircular portion exterior of the cartridge topush the film out of a light trap opening in said cartridge and in frontof the camera lens, film metering means comprising a film-actuatingmember rotatably mounted within said camera housing and having anoncircular portion complementary to and adapted to releasably engagesaid noncircular portion of said sprocket, an indexing memberoperatively connected to said film actuating member and being rotatablymounted within said camera housing and carrying a plurality of arcuatelyspaced apart stop means corresponding to the number of picture frames tobe exposed on the film, latch means within said housing in the path ofmovement of said stop means as said indexing member rotates for latchingeach of said stop means as it passes to thereby control the length offilm pushed out of said cartridge, manually operable means on saidcamera housing for releasing said latch means, a manually rotatable filmwinding member on said camera housing operatively connected to saidindexing member and to said filmactuating member, the spacing betweenthe first and second of said stop means being different than thatbetween other adjacent stop means to permit pushing a length of filmequal to a leader plus one picture frame out of said light trap openingin the initial movement of said film, said indexing member having acartridge-loading position wherein said latch means latches the first ofsaid stop means on said indexing member and said cartridge can beinserted into and withdrawn from said compartment, and including meanson said camera housing for preventing insertion of said cartridge intosaid compartment when said indexing member is away from saidcartridge-loading position.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein saidmeans for preventing insertion of said cartridge comprises saidfilm-actuating member being oriented in a position wherein itsnoncircular portion cannot engage said noncircular portion of saidsprocket and blocks entry of said cartridge into said compartment. 3.The combination of claim 1 wherein said camera housing has a movabledoor permitting insertion of said cartridge into and withdrawal thereoffrom said compartment and including means in said camera housingresponsive to said indexing member being away from saidcartridge-loading position for locking said door and being responsive tosaid indexing member being latched in said cartridge-loading positionfor unlocking said door.
 4. The combination of claim 1 wherein saidindexing member has a plurality of arcuately spaced apart indentationseach of which comprises one of said stop means, said latch meansincludes a latch member pivotally mounted within said camera housing andcarrying a latch pin adapted to enter said indentations, and includingresilient means for biasing said latch member in a direction to insertsaid latch pin into said indentations.
 5. The combination of claim 1wherein said indexing member has teeth and including a gear rotatablymounted within said housing and having teeth meshing with the teeth onsaid indexing member, and a Shaft rotatably mounted within said housingand being affixed to said handle and to said gear and to said filmactuating member.
 6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said indexingmember is a toothed gear having a plurality of arcuately spaced apartindentations each of which comprises one of said stop means, and saidlatch means includes a latch member pivotably mounted within said camerahousing and carrying a latch pin adapted to enter said indentations, andincluding resilient means for biasing said latch member in a directionto insert said latch pin into said indentations.
 7. The combination ofclaim 6 including cooperable stop means on said indexing member and onsaid camera housing for preventing additional rotation of said indexingmember after the last picture frame on the film has been pushed in frontof the camera lens.
 8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said indexingmember has a cartridge-loading position wherein said latch pin is withinthe first of said indentations and said noncircular portion of said filmactuating member is oriented to permit entry of said cartridge into saidcamera housing and releasably engages said noncircular portion of saidsprocket, and wherein said noncircular portion of said film actuatingmember is oriented to obstruct entry of said cartridge into said camerahousing and prevent engagement with said noncircular portion of saidsprocket when said indexing member is away from said cartridge-loadingposition.
 9. The combination of claim 8 wherein said camera housing hasa movable door for insertion of said cartridge into said compartment andincluding means in said camera housing for locking said door when saidindexing member is away from said cartridge-loading position and forunlocking said door when said indexing member is in saidcartridge-loading position.
 10. The combination of claim 1 and includingcooperating stop means on said indexing member and on said camerahousing for preventing additional rotation of said indexing member afterthe portion of the unexposed film corresponding to the last pictureframe has been pushed in front of the camera lens.
 11. The combinationof claim 1 and including a stationary pointer on the exterior of saidcamera housing, and a plate carrying picture frame indicia rotatablymounted on the exterior of said camera housing adjacent said stationarypointer and being operatively connected to said indexing member.